Security systems are used to help protect people, property, and reduce crime for homeowners and businesses alike and have become an increasingly cost-effective tool to reduce risk. These systems have multiple components, such as workstations, display devices, and security devices that communicate over a security network. These security devices include monitoring points, video cameras for capturing live video of an area of interest, network video recorders for recording and playback of previously captured events, physical access control devices such as key pads and card readers, and a variety of sensor devices installed within and at entry and exit points for premises.
Security devices send status information periodically and in response to events. These events include changes in the environment the devices were designed to detect, such as a when a window sensor detects that the window has been opened or that the window sensor itself has been tampered with, and events related to device operation, such as when a sensor's battery voltage is low, or when a video camera indicates that condensation has occurred on its lens. When the status changes, the devices send their status information to a receiving entity such as a security control system so that the security control system can record the event. Display devices are also used to present the status information to an operator in graphical user interfaces (“GUI”). The graphical user interfaces typically include icons associated with each of the security devices on a topology map. The topology map displays a device-specific icon for each security device. The topology map typically displays a virtual floor plan containing physical features of an area being monitored, and displays icons for security devices on the security network for that area.
One of the ways the security system notifies operators of changes in the security network is by updating the icons associated with security devices on the topology map of the GUI in response to status information sent by the security devices.